Dear UBC Friends,

  Governance is the new European Union Buzz-word. But it addresses real and important problems that are facing leaders in Europe at all levels, not least at the city government level. The challenges and possibilities come from two directions: Firstly, the demands from the citizens on participation and information, and the need for city leaders to communicate the policies are important engines for the development of democracy. Secondly, the technological evolution has given us tools and working methods that can meet some of the demands from the citizens and city leaders.

   This issue of the Baltic Cities Bulletin tries to mirror the development in governance issues in our region. The picture given in the stories from our members is impressing. We are certainly on the move to a new level of citizen's participation, information and involvement, using all these new technologies. However, we must not forget the value of our traditional methods, and we must also not forget that all citizens or city leaders cannot utilize the new methods - we are not inventing something that can replace our traditional democratic system, just improve it.

   Also UBC will develop its democracy and contacts with the members. You will soon, I hope, notice an improved UBC home-page with better accessible information and communication. I also hope that the UBC Working Group on the revised UBC Strategy will present some ideas on UBC governance.

   The period since the last issue of BCB has been full of activities for me as UBC President. Among other, I had the opportunity this summer to lead a work-shop on the EU enlargement at a conference in connection with the start of the Danish EU Presidency. Recently I visited the Baltic Sea Parliamentary Co-operation meeting in St Petersburg, where UBC was able to influence the final resolution in a couple of important issues.

   UBC has also raised the question on the EU White Paper on Transportation, where the Baltic Sea Region hardly is mentioned. It can result in that nothing of the billions of future EU investments in transportation infrastructure will come to our region, except perhaps for a proposed bridge between Denmark and Germany. We need also to enhance the special transportation problems of the Baltic Sea Region, like remoteness from central Europe and the dependence on ferry transportation.

   It has been a very long lasting, nice and warm summer, which is now turning into autumn. Here in Denmark there have been many signs of the unstable state of the environment in the Baltic Sea. Among others there has been a severe lack of oxygen in the water, causing mass death among fishes and other animals in the sea. So we must continue to improve our ways of treating the environment. UBC is one of the necessary tools in this work.

Per Bodker Andersen
UBC President	Kolding, November 2002